Aylesworth Bowen Perry

A member of the first class at RMC, Kingston, Ontario, Perry joined the police as an inspector in 1882, served with the Alberta Field Force during the Northwest Resistance in 1885, and was placed in command of the police in the Yukon in 1899. As commissioner 1900-23, Perry modernized the force's equipment and methods. During WWI, departures to serve overseas weakened the force, and the creation of provincial police forces in Alberta and Saskatchewan reduced its responsibilities. The future of the force was in doubt, but it proved its usefulness in controlling postwar unrest, and Perry was made responsible for reorganizing the force as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.